How? Well, it's a two fold story... First of all, remember when I was lamenting my need for office appropriate summer shoes? Well if not click that link and get up to speed! If so, you will be happy to know that BF really came through for our anniversary on the 25th. Not only did we go eat at a nice restaurant and spend some time together but, he took me shopping for (yeah, you guessed it) office appropriate summer shoes and some work wardrobe things as well. Four cardigans and six pairs of peep toes later I am feeling pretty confident about my ability to fulfill all my work wardrobe needs.
After all the fun gift stuff I still felt the need for more shoes if you can believe that and this is where things got really crazy. I have been wearing some of my shoes to death, literally and they have been overdue for replacements. They were all from the same shopping trip to Target in the summer of 2008. If I'm doing the math right that was three years and a few tubes of Krazy Glue ago! Yup, Krazy Glue; I'm allowed to get new shoes, right? Check out the pictures and let me know if you saw that same need I did...
Now that we have established that I will admit that when I went looking for new shoes I was searching for something that would last just as long if not longer than my old shoes. When I hit the mall I experienced a bit of sticker shock after I found these three pairs of shoes (which I think fit the bill) and finally checked out. The grand total was $156.84!! That's more than I spent on everything last year in total! Let's just say after that shopping trip I had a freak out moment or two/ten. Was I really justified in spending all that money on shoes?
In the end I think yes and I have to keep reminding myself of that! Here's how I came to that conclusion:
- Even though I spent a good chunk of change I shopped smart and saved over $100.00 compared to the original retail prices.
- I hadn't purchased shoes like this since 2008, it's not like I had tons of replacements waiting in the wings.
- I wore the old ones so much that they literally fell apart and I had to glue them back together. I will probably get the same use out of these.
- I did some math and realized that even with this "crazy" expense I have spent an average of $20 per month in total since I started this blog and my personal style challenge.
Pre-blog Iris wouldn't have needed this justification, she wouldn't have given it a second thought... I reference pre-blog Iris everyone once and a while here on 260 Days, No Repeats but, I don't think that anyone who didn't know me in person can completely grasp it. Would I consider myself a shopaholic? No, not really. Would I have considered myself one of these young people? No, my self confidence is pretty solid. When reflecting on my past shopping habits I would say that I was unconcerned with consequences, let me explain; I wasn't going to die if I didn't have "it" (whatever "it" was at the time) but, if I wanted "it" why not just get "it"? I could pay my bills and afford "it" (at least that's what I thought) so there was nothing to hold me back. Then reality set in...
I don't really have the money to spend like that. I'm still paying for things that I purchased back then (approx 4 years ago) not even thinking that it might be something that of concern years down the road. After a year of keeping my metaphorical purse strings tight, I had alot of trouble incorporating the real need/the money I needed to spend to fulfill it with my new "shop your closet/no shopping" mentality. In the end it worked out but, I'm just hoping I don't need to do it again anytime soon! Do you ever find yourself having difficulty justifying the cost of something you need? How do you work that out in the end?
